


Ripped

by 44TayLo



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 17:33:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8854555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/44TayLo/pseuds/44TayLo
Summary: "'You ripped your shirt,' Tony muttered, dumbfounded. His eyes were wide, and now he sure as shit felt awake. Well, more awake, anyway.'Uh,' Bruce eloquently replied, disbelief apparent on his own face."After an epic science bender, Bruce stretches at the breakfast table and rips his shirt. Tony can't stop staring. Semi-inspired by real events.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Last summer I was in a meeting, and I stretched in a button up shirt that was honestly too small for my broad shoulders. My shirt ripped in the back, and one of my colleagues compared me to the Hulk. So obviously I had to write this. Sorry not sorry.

Tony took in the crowded kitchen, narrowing his eyes in confusion. Owlishly, he blinked at the time displayed on the microwave. Seven am. Huh. Well, that explained why all of the Avengers were in the kitchen, save Wanda and Vision, and God he really didn’t want to hold on to that train of thought for too long. Those two weren’t as subtle as they thought.

According to Banner, that particular budding romance was adorable. Of course, the physicist had said that about an hour ago, which meant he’d also been going on about thirty hours without sleep at the time. So there was a chance Bruce wasn’t actually a huge sap.

Tony blinked again.

“Dude. Sit,” Clint demanded from his place at the table.

Problem was, there really wasn’t anywhere Tony was willing to park it. Oh there were empty chairs, alright. But his only options were either next to Sam, or next to Natasha. Steve was currently at the head of the table and sitting next to Bucky, who was sandwiched between the blond and Wilson. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but Bucky was extremely affectionate in the morning. In fact, he was practically draped across Sam, his head resting in the crook of the other man’s neck. Sam was trying, and failing, to look agitated by it. For his part, Steve was thumbing through a book, one hand covering Bucky’s own.

There was absolutely zero chance of Tony sitting next to _that_ disgusting display of domesticity. And he wasn’t about to sit next to Natasha. She was even more likely to kill him than normal before she had her first cup of coffee. Barton knew how much she hated mornings, so he was sitting at the other head of the table, leaving empty chairs on either side of Natasha.

Tony glared at him.

Someone gripped his arm and began steering him towards the sink. It was Banner. Of course it was Banner, looking just as tired as Tony felt, but not nearly as gross. The physicist had left the lab before Tony had. His wet curls and clean clothes suggested that he’d showered and actually acted like a responsible human being, while Tony had stayed in the lab and continued to sporadically coat himself in grease.

Bruce stopped him in front of the sink and turned on the faucet. While Tony scrubbed at the oil and grease on his forearms and hands, Bruce opened a cupboard and reached for two coffee mugs. That motion caught Tony’s attention, and holy shit he was glad it had. His overly tired brain fought to process how Bruce’s shirt pulled taut across his shoulders, his sleeves tight around biceps that Tony hadn’t realized he had. The other man usually wore a lab coat when he was working on his own projects, or an oversized, old flannel when he was helping Tony and knew he’d end up covered in grime.

Tony had known Bruce was hitting the gym, and even that he sparred with Steve and Natasha in an attempt to learn defensive maneuvers and how to throw a decent punch. But shit, he hadn’t realized Bruce was hiding some serious muscle definition under his bulky clothes.

As Banner reached for the coffee pot, he noticed Tony staring.

“Stark? You alright?” he asked, his voice gravely with his own fatigue.

“Hm, what, always,” Tony replied, his quick response muddled even more by a mouth numb with exhaustion.

Bruce gave him an odd look before turning off the water and very deliberately pointing at a hand towel. Tony dried his hands, but continued to stare.

With one last confused look, Bruce finally turned his attention to the coffee pot and poured a cup for each of them. He began to doctor up Tony’s coffee. Tony would have stopped anyone else, but the physicist had been around him long enough to know exactly how he liked it. He zeroed in on Banner’s arms as he stirred the sugar in, and wondered how good Banner would be at picking up on how he liked more carnal things.

“Tony.”

Tony forced himself to focus on Bruce’s face. The other man looked concerned, his brow creased and the corners of his lips pulling downwards. That probably wasn’t the first time he’d called Tony’s name. Bruce continued to look at him expectantly, and it took Tony a couple more seconds to realize he was waiting for a reply.

“Hmm?” he finally grunted.

That didn’t do anything to quell the physicist’s worry. “Please sit down. You look like you’re gonna fall over.”

“You don’t look much better, Doc,” Natasha commented, causing both men to acknowledge the rest of the room.

Bruce pushed his glasses up into his hair and rubbed at his eyes in reply. He grabbed his cup of coffee and sat in the chair next to Sam, leaving Tony at the counter by himself. Resigned to his fate, Tony followed him with his own cup of coffee and took a seat next to Natasha, directly across from Bruce.

As soon as he sat down, Tony felt his whole body begin to ache. God, he was tired. He was growing too old for this science-bender bullshit. He quickly stamped down on that thought. Nope, he wasn’t aging. Not at all. He was going to live forever, immortalized by a gold-titanium suit.

Bruce grimaced, his body also reminding him of just how long they’d been down in the lab. Tony watched as Bruce closed his eyes and clasped his hands above his head. The physicist pushed his chest out in a deep stretch that engaged his shoulders and upper back.

A quick, ripping noise came from Bruce’s protesting shirt, and Tony’s jaw dropped. Bruce immediately stopped stretching, his eyes opening in surprise. He unclasped his hands and brought them into view. Tony watched as the tension eased out of his face and posture. Right, Bruce had probably been worried that the Hulk was trying to make an appearance.

“You ripped your shirt,” Tony muttered, dumbfounded. His eyes were wide, and now he sure as shit felt awake. Well, more awake, anyway.

“Uh,” Bruce eloquently replied, disbelief apparent on his own face.

Clint was laughing uproariously, while Natasha and Sam shared a quick chuckle.

“It’s okay,” Steve assured him. “I did that once, after the serum.” The blond’s eyes were alight with humor. He wouldn’t laugh, though. He was nicer than that.

Bucky smirked as he ogled Steve. “That happened to you a couple of times.”

“See though, it makes more sense when it happens to Steve,” Bruce muttered, groping his back to try and find the tear. He pulled a little too far forward, and the shirt ripped further. Bruce just sighed.

Tony thought his eyes were going to bulge out of his own skull.

“You’ve been working out,” Natasha reminded him, though she was still clearly amused.

Bruce began to unbutton the front of the shirt. “It’s no more physical activity than when I was on the run,” he countered, “And I never bulked up during that.”

Tony watched as Bruce shrugged off the thin, cotton button-up and began to inspect the tear. His biceps were impressive, clearly defined and slightly bigger than Tony’s own. He couldn’t quite see, but he suspected Bruce had the beginnings of a six pack.

A sharp kick to the shin caused him to jerk back. He shot a confused glare at Natasha, who simply raised an eyebrow. Tony quickly caught the message. He should maybe try to be less obvious about drooling over his ripped, sexy, genius lab partner. Honestly, he hadn’t even realized he’d been leaning over the table to try and get closer until Natasha kicked him.

While Tony struggled to reign himself in a bit, Sam spoke up. “You didn’t have a lot of food though, yeah? So you wouldn’t have gained any muscle mass back then.”

Bruce tilted his head as he considered that, showing off the long line of his neck. That did it; Tony couldn’t just _not_ flirt with him, now.

“And I doubt you got enough protein to make muscle,” Tony pointed out. Then with a smirk, he added, “But there’s plenty of meat here for you to go to town on.” He looked down at himself suggestively, then threw Bruce a wink.

Natasha and Sam rolled their eyes while Clint snickered. Bruce, for his part, raised an eyebrow and battled against the amused smile creeping onto his face. The physicist shrugged. “Well, I mean, as long as I eat my vegetables first.”

“Oh Doctor Banner, was that an offer?” Tony asked, faking nonchalance with a sip of his coffee. “That sounded like an offer. I will definitely make you a salad if that’s what it takes to romance you.”

“Some of us are trying to finish breakfast,” Sam interjected, his aggravation falling short and leaving him only with resignation.

“And some of us are discussing dinner plans. Calm down, Pigeon.”

Sam put his head in his hands and let out a long suffering sigh.

“As fun as this has been,” Bruce began as he stood up from the table, “I need to sleep. The coffee isn’t doing anything at this point.” He went to the sink to rinse his mug, giving Tony a great view of the lean muscles of his back.

He came back to the table to snag his ruined shirt, and gave Tony a pointed look. “You should also try to sleep.”

“Sleep is for quiters.”

Bruce hummed at that and exited the kitchen. Struggling to keep his bleary eyes open, Tony watched him leave. Now if only the physicist’s khakis fit him better...

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


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